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Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among low‐income, African American women with a history of intimate partner violence and suicidal behaviors: Self‐esteem, social support, and religious coping
Author(s) -
Bradley Rebekah,
Schwartz Ann C.,
Kaslow Nadine J.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.20077
Subject(s) - spouse , psychology , clinical psychology , social support , domestic violence , coping (psychology) , psychiatry , self esteem , poison control , suicide prevention , conflict tactics scale , medicine , medical emergency , social psychology , sociology , anthropology
There is a dearth of research on risk/protective factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among low‐income African American women with a history of intimate partner violence (IPV), presenting for suicidal behavior or routine medical care in a large, urban hospital. We examined self‐esteem, social support, and religious coping as mediators between experiences of child maltreatment (CM) and IPV and symptoms of PTSD in a sample ( N = 134) of low‐income African American women. Instruments used included the Index of Spouse Abuse, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Taylor Self‐Esteem Inventory, the Multidimensional Profile of Social Support, the Brief Religious Coping Activities Scale, and the Davidson Trauma Scale. Both CM and IPV related positively to PTSD symptoms. Risk and resilience individual difference factors accounted for 18% of the variance in PTSD symptoms over and above IPV and CM, with self‐esteem and negative religious coping making unique contributions. Both variables mediated the abuse–PTSD symptom link. In addition, we tested an alternate model in which PTSD symptoms mediated the relationship between abuse and both self‐esteem and negative religious coping.